[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9046]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            LGBT PRIDE MONTH

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize June as LGBT Pride 
Month, a time in which we celebrate the progress our country has made 
toward equality and honor the contributions of LGBT Americans to the 
diverse fabric that is our Nation.
  I would like to thank the many organizations in my congressional 
district, SAVE, Unity Coalition-Coalicion Unida, the National LGBTQ 
Task Force, just to name a few, and recognize their invaluable work to 
promote acceptance and fight harassment, bullying, and discrimination 
wherever it takes place.
  This month we also celebrate 2 years of marriage equality. The union 
of two people in marriage should not be based on gender, but on love, 
and those legally married couples deserve equal respect and treatment 
under the law.
  Mr. Speaker, this month of celebration is also, sadly, a stark 
reminder that we have a lot more work to do to end LGBT violence. We 
also commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub 
terrorist shooting. As we honor the memories of those we have lost, we 
must also make a commitment to stand together to disarm hate and demand 
the equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals at home and 
abroad.

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